Wheeler sets Raider sack mark in loss to Bucknell

HAMILTON, N.Y. >> Another tough day on the gridiron led Colgate to drop its seventh game of the season, a 32-14 setback to Bucknell here Saturday.

The Raiders trailed 20-7 at halftime but took the opening drive of the second half 74 yards in nine plays. Malik Twyman scored from2 yards out and Colgate was within a touchdown.

Bucknell answered with a TD march of its own to reassume a two-score lead at 26-14 midway in the third. The teams twice traded punts before Colgate put together its best drive of the game.

The Raiders (0-7, 0-2 Patriot) took over at their own 30 with 12:25 remaining and marched 12 plays in 6 minutes time, gaining first-and-goal at the Bucknell 6. But the Raiders then threw incomplete, lost a yard rushing, lost 14 on a quarterback sack and threw incomplete on fourthand-goal from 21 – thus ending Colgate’s last best hope with 5:43 remaining.

“We have to find a way to come out and improve during the week. I don’t know if we’re getting any better right now, and that’s on me. We have to find a way to be better tomorrow than we were today and, hopefully, keep clawing just to win a game here and see what happens. I told the team that there were lessons that you learn last year when you win every game, and there are lessons that you learn this year,” said

Colgate head coach Dan Hunt. “In some ways, you find out more about yourself now. And we’re going to see what we have individually as coaches and as players and as seniors. It’s an opportunity to still write a good story, but we have to start being accountable to the improvements we need to make.”

In desperation mode, quarterback Grant Breneman was stripped and fumbled at his own 5-yard line in the closing seconds and Bucknell’s Simeon Page trotted home with a 12-yard TD return.

Lost in the despair of falling to 0-7 was Nick Wheeler’s two sacks in the game, breaking a 38-year-old Colgate career record. Wheeler bumped his sack total to six for the season and 29.5 for his career, passing Kelly Robinson, who tallied 28.5 from 1979-81.

“He certainly has proven to be one of the best passrushers we’ve had. He deserves the record; he’s worked hard for it. When I think of all the D-linemen we’ve had, that’s an impressive accomplishment to be No. 1 all time,” Hunt said of Wheeler. “I’m happy for him. I wish it had come in a better situation for the team, but he can look back and be proud of this. That’s the hallmark of a good career.”

Wheeler, with Saturday’s performance, takes over the NCAA FCS lead among active career sack leaders. He’s one better than Sully Laiche of Nicholls State (28.5) and 1.5 ahead of Wagner’s Cameron Gill (28).

Bucknell (1-5, 1-1 Patriot) won its first game of the season behind quarterback Logan Bitikofer, who completed 18-of-29 passing for 250 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.